Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
Read and study the sources about the women’s rights movement. As you read the four sources, think about the influences on and goals of the women’s rights movement during the 1800s. After you read the sources, answer the questions.
Source 1 Excerpt from The Declaration of Sentiments (July 1848) by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
This excerpt is from The Declaration of Sentiments, which was adopted at the first Women’s Rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; . . .
The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations1 on the part of man toward woman. . . . To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid2 world.
He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise3.
He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice. . . .
Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides. . . .
He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns. . . .
He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all colleges being closed against her. . . .
Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement4 of one-half the people of this country, . . . in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, . . . we insist that they have immediate admission5 to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States.
1usurpations: taking of power 2candid: open 3elective franchise: vote 4disfranchisement: denial of rights, usually the right to vote 5admission: access
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 1
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
Source 2
Excerpt from Ain’t I a Woman? (July 1851) by Sojourner Truth
This excerpt is from a speech delivered by Sojourner Truth at the Women’s Rights Convention held in July 1851 in Akron, Ohio. Sojourner Truth was a former slave who was involved in both the women’s rights movement and the antislavery movement.
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man—when I could get it—and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman? . . .
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women all together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again.
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 2
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
Source 3
Excerpt from Shall Women Have the Right to Vote? (October 1851) by Wendell Phillips
This excerpt is from an address delivered at the Women’s Rights Convention held in Worcester, Massachusetts.
But I wish especially to direct your attention to the precise principle which this movement undertakes to urge upon the community. We do not attempt to settle what shall be the profession, education, or employment of woman. We have not that presumption1. What we ask is simply this,—what all other classes have asked before. Leave it to woman to choose for herself her profession, her education, and her sphere2. We deny to any portion of the species the right to prescribe to any other portion its sphere, its education, or its rights. We deny the right of any individual to prescribe to any other individual his amount of education, or his rights. The sphere of each man, of each woman, of each individual, is that sphere which he can, with the highest exercise of his powers, perfectly fill. . . . All that woman asks through this movement is, to be allowed to prove what she can do; to prove it by liberty of choice, by liberty of action, and the only means by which it ever can be settled how much and what she can do.
1presumption: expectation
2sphere: field of work; area of interest
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 3
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
Source 4
Women’s Rights
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 4
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
1. Based on Source 1, which right had been denied to women in the 1800s? A. the right to equal pay in the workforce B. the right to attend religious ceremonies C. the right to freedom of speech D. the right to participate in electoral politics
2. Based on Source 1, which idea was most closely associated with the women’s rights movement? A. implied powers B. enumerated powers C. property rights D. inalienable rights
3. Based on Source 2 and Source 4, which reform movement most likely shared similar goals with the women’s rights movement? A. the labor movement B. the anti-immigration movement C. the secessionist movement D. the abolitionist movement
4. Which statements best describe the women’s rights movement during the 1800s? Select the two correct answers. A. It opposed the prohibition of the production and sale of alcohol. B. It had many members who supported other social-reform movements. C. It had strong support throughout the southern states. D. It wanted to discourage the teaching of Christianity. E. It had diverse membership that included men and women of different races.
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 5
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
5. Based on the sources and your knowledge of social studies, analyze the influences on and goals of the women’s rights movement during the 1800s.
As you write, follow the directions below. • Address all parts of the prompt. • Include information and examples from your own knowledge of social studies. • Use evidence from the sources to support your response.
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 6
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
Answer Key
Item Primary Item Type Key Number Alignment
1 Multiple Choice (MC) D 7.3.3
2 Multiple Choice (MC) D 7.10.1
3 Multiple Choice (MC) D 7.10.1
4 Multiple Select (MS) B, E 7.3.3
5 Extended Response (ER) See Rubric and Scoring Notes 7.10.1
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 7
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
Extended-Response Rubric and Scoring Notes
The response should be scored holistically on its adherence to two dimensions: Content and Claims. Each response should be given the score that corresponds to the set of bulleted descriptors that best describes the response.
Dimension: Content Score Description The student’s response: • Reflects thorough knowledge of the influences on and goals of the women’s rights movement during the 1800s by incorporating ample, 4 focused factual information from prior knowledge and the sources; • Contains accurate understandings with no errors significant enough to detract from the overall content of the response; • Fully addresses all parts of the prompt. The student’s response: • Reflects general knowledge of the influences on and goals of the women’s rights movement during the 1800s by incorporating adequate 3 factual information from prior knowledge and the sources; • Contains mostly accurate understandings with minimal errors that do not substantially detract from the overall content of the response; • Addresses all parts of the prompt. The student’s response: • Reflects limited knowledge of the influences on and goals of the women’s rights movement during the 1800s by incorporating some 2 factual information from prior knowledge and the sources; • Contains some accurate understandings with a few errors that detract from the overall content of the response; • Addresses part of the prompt. The student’s response: • Reflects minimal knowledge of the influences on and goals of the women’s rights movement during the 1800s by incorporating little or no 1 factual information from prior knowledge and the sources; • Contains few accurate understandings with several errors that detract from the overall content of the response; • Minimally addresses part of the prompt. 0 The student’s response is blank, incorrect, or does not address the prompt.
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 8
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
Dimension: Claims
Score Description The student’s response: • Develops a valid claim that effectively expresses a solid understanding of the topic; • Thoroughly supports the claim with well-chosen evidence from the 4 sources; • Provides a logically organized, cohesive, and in-depth explanation of the connections, patterns, and trends among ideas, people, events, and/or contexts within or across time and place. The student’s response: • Develops a relevant claim that expresses a general understanding of the topic; 3 • Supports the claim with sufficient evidence from the sources; • Provides an organized explanation of the connections, patterns, and trends among ideas, people, events, and/or contexts within or across time and place. The student’s response: • Presents a claim that expresses a basic understanding of the topic; • Includes limited support for the claim by using some evidence from 2 the sources; • Provides a weak explanation of the connections, patterns, and trends among ideas, people, events, and/or contexts within or across time and place. The student’s response: • Presents a claim with little or no evidence from the sources; 1 • Provides a vague, unclear, or illogical explanation of the connections among ideas, people, events, and/or contexts within or across time and place. The student’s response is blank, incorrect, too brief to evaluate, or lacks 0 a claim that addresses the prompt.
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 9
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
Characteristics of a Strong Response
A strong response is logically organized into several paragraphs. Any errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, or capitalization do not interfere with the ability of the reader to understand the ideas presented.
A strong response may develop one or more lines of reasoning to support the claim. Here are some examples.
• The women’s rights movement was influenced by the ideas expressed in the nation’s founding documents. Members of the women’s rights movement believed that women should enjoy the same rights as men. As such, the members pointed to the principles of the American Revolution and cited the Declaration of Independence as outlining rights that pertained to men and women. The Declaration of Sentiments is modeled on the Declaration of Independence. It closely imitates the preamble from the latter in expressing many women’s views that the government pertains to all of the people, not just men, and that it has an obligation to reflect the values and expectations of all citizens.
• The women’s rights movement of the 1800s was influenced by the abolitionist movement. The abolitionist movement was very active and successful in gaining support in the Northeast and Midwest against the spread of slavery. Many of the leaders of the women’s rights movement were also active in the abolitionist movement. For example, Sojourner Truth was an outspoken advocate for both political equality for men and women and the end of slavery. The early women’s rights movement shared many goals with the abolitionist movement with equal rights and freedoms being at the forefront. Women who participated in these movements aimed to achieve the right to vote and equal representation in government for both women and African Americans.
• The women’s rights movement was influenced by the Second Great Awakening that swept across the country during the early 1800s. The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival that encouraged people to live virtuous lives. The ideas of equality often expressed by leaders of the Second Great Awakening inspired many women to become active participants in one or more reform movements. Some women became involved in the early women’s rights movement and sought to achieve equal rights for women including rights to vote, greater opportunities in education, and control of their own wages.
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 10
Grade 7 Social Studies Sample Task Women’s Rights Movement
A strong response shows understanding of the topic by analyzing the required sources and including well-chosen evidence from the sources, such as:
• The Declaration of Independence was used as a model for the Declaration of Sentiments. The Declaration of Sentiments amended the original document, stating “that all men and women are created equal” and continues by asserting that both men and women possess “certain inalienable rights” (Source 1).
• The “right to the elective franchise” and to have a voice in government would become a leading goal of the movement in the 1800s (Source 1).
• Many members of the women’s rights movement also participated in and were inspired by the abolitionist movement (Source 2 and Source 4).
• The women’s rights movement sought many rights for women (e.g., property rights, rights to earnings, right to choose career, etc.) (Source 1, Source 3, Source 4).
• The reform of education, particularly for women, was a key concern of the women’s rights movement during the 1800s (Source 1, Source 3 and Source 4).
A strong response also includes important information beyond what is presented in the sources, such as:
• Identifying significant leaders of the women’s rights movement such as Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott and describing the influences and/or goals expressed by leaders of the movement;
• Describing other reform movements (e.g., abolitionist movement, education reform, care for the mentally ill, prison reform, etc.) and the relationship between these movements and the early women’s rights movement;
• Describing the Second Great Awakening and its influences on the women’s rights movement during the 1800s.
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES SAMPLE TASK SET 11